BEVERLY HILLS, May 13, (THEWILL) – Popular American comedian, Ellen DeGeneres, says she will end her talk show after almost two decades.
She disclosed this while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, saying that the show had become less challenging over the years.
“When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged – and as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore,” she said.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show is a daily mix of comedy, interviews, and human interest stories and was first aired in September 2003.
The show will now come to an end in 2022 after its 19th season.
According to Ellen, the decision wasn’t impromptu but it was based on the contract signed.
“I was going to stop after season 16. That was going to be my last season and they wanted to sign for four more years and I said I’d sign for maybe one,” the 63-year-old said.
“They were saying there was no way to sign for one. ‘We can’t do that with the affiliates and the stations need more of a commitment.’
“So, we [settled] on three more years and I knew that would be my last. That was the plan all along.”
This development is coming barely a month after the show aired its 3000th episode and the TV host was said to have communicated the decision to her staff on Tuesday.
THEWILL recalls that last year, DeGeneres came under fire for promoting a toxic work environment around the production of the show.
The accusation sparked social media reactions and resulted in the dismissal of three senior producers and also an on-air apology from the host herself.
Speaking on the incident, the television host stated that the allegations had not influenced her decision to end the show.
“If I was quitting the show because of that, I wouldn’t have come back this season,” she said.
“It broke my heart when I learned that people here had anything other than a fantastic experience – that people were hurt in any way.”
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